Recipe | Banana Bites

I’ve made these loads and loads. They are so easy (trust me, they really are!) and there’s no weighing of ingredients. They contain no added refined sugar, so are healthy for you as a snack (an alternative to a sugary biscuit/flapjack) and for little ones too. They are rich in potassium and slow-release natural sugars. The natural sweetness comes from the banana, dates and apricots so no extra sugar is needed to make these yummy sweet treats.

Method
1) Preheat your oven to 180c. Line a baking tray with baking paper
2) Put all ingredients into a bowl, and mix well. You should end up with quite a sticky mixture.
3) Sprinkle some desiccated coconut onto a chopping board
4) Shape the mixture into patties and coat in the desiccated coconut. Place on baking tray. Repeat until you have used all the mixture (it should make 6 – 8)
5) Cook for 10 minutes until just starting to brown
6) Allow to cool, and enjoy!

These will keep well in an airtight container for around 3 days. They can also be frozen; defrost throughly!

If you don’t have date nectar, you could use honey instead, but obviously the sugar content will be much higher then.

Health benefits

Oats – easy to digest; they contain more soluble fibre than any other grain so they’re digested slowly, meaning you feel fuller longerBananas – rich in potassium, which helps to lower blood pressure. Studies show that having a potassium rich diet can help reduce the risk of stroke and heart diseaseApricots – contains vitamins A (for eye health), C (for the immune system) and E (an antioxidant to help maintain healthy skin, eyes and strengthens the immune system)Dates – not only high in fibre and potassium, but also contains tannins, which have an astringent quality that is useful for treating stomach upsetsCoconut – can help to lower cholesterol